Civil Rights Movement

White Primary Picture moments in the 1940sDuring King vs. Chapman, Congress decided that the primary election wasn't right and not constitutional. During the 1946 primary election, Blacks were finally allowed to vote in the primary election.

1st Jan, 1946

White Primary is abolished in GA

Picture Moments in the 1940sWhite PrimaryThe White Primary was used to prevent blacks from voting after the Civil War. The Primary was a loophole within the voting rights of blacks in elections. There was nothing in the US constitution about having primary elections along with the general elections. Blacks weren't allowed to vote in primary elections, so even though blacks voted in the general election, the winner had already been voted for and chosen in the primary election.

1st Feb, 1948

Intergration of the Armed Forces

Picture of Integrated Air ForcesCivil Rights TimelineHarry S. Truman had signed the order in the integration of the armed forces. He did this because the military had a shortage of armed forces, and they needed more people. This is called the Executive Order 9981. It stated that all people could serve in the military without the dilemma of their race, their color, their religion, or their nationality.

17th May, 1954

Brown vs. Board of Education

Picture of Brown vs. Board of EducationBrown vs. Board of EducationIn the Brown vs. Board of education, the Supreme Court said that the segregation of schools was unconstitutional. This started the process of integration of public schools. The Brown vs. Board of education overlooked the Plessy vs. Ferguson case in 1896. The Plessy vs. Ferguson stated the "separate but equal" concept that was changed with the Brown vs. Board of education.

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus BoycottPicture of Rosa ParksRosa Parks was a NAACP member. The bus boycott began because Rosa didn't want to give up her seat in the "Whites'" section to a white person. This was a violation to the civil rights of black people during that time. Rosa was arrested after that. After she was arrested, black people in the Montgomery area started a bus boycott that ended on December 21, 1956. Martin Luther King led the boycott.

Change to Georgia's State Flag (Picture Included)An Atlanta attorney thought a new state flag for Georgia that would have the Confederate Flag would be appropriate. The state senators Davis and Harden added the Senate Bill 98 to change the state flag. It was agreed on February 13, 1956, and it became effective the following July 1.

1st Jan, 1957

Crisis at Central High School and the "Little Rock Nine"

Picture of the Little Rock NineThe Little Rock NineThe Little Rock Nine were the first black students to go to Central High School in Arkansas. The governor of Arkansas sent the National Guard to prevent these teenagers from entering school on their first day. All they wanted was to get the same education as the white people did. Even though the Brown vs. Board of Education stated that segregation in public schools was illegal, people found loopholes by threatening the black students.

1st Jan, 1957

Crisis at Central High School and the "Little Rock Nine" continued

President Dwight Eisenhower sent in troops to protect these nine vulnerable students. These unlucky nine students were tormented every single day of their high school lives, yet they all graduated and overcame the racism that was directed at them.

Sibley Commission Picture of Sibley Commission During the Sibley Commission, most schools did not want to integrate the students. John Sibley, who was an Atlanta attorney and banker, interrogated Georgians to see if they liked integration or not. He discovered that most people would rather have schools shut down than to have an integrated school. The Sibley Commission stated that the schools could choose for themselves if they were to follow the law and integrate the schools. Some people opened up private schools to avoid integration.

11th Jan, 1961

Integration of UGA

Picture of Integrationof UGA Integrationof UGACharlayne Hunter and Hamilton Holmes went to University of Georgia with an escort from the police. UGA students and Georgia politicians didn't want Hunter and Holmes to attend UGA, so they complained to the governor. The governor's name was Vandiver. They were even willing to shut down the school so that they were not able to go there. He went against his word when he said that he would keep schools segregated.

11th Jan, 1961

Integration of UGA continued

Holmes graduated from UGA and became a orthopedic surgeon, and Hunter also graduated and later became a newspaper and TV reporter. The governor who desegregated Georgia made the transformation from segregated schools to integrated schools at a milder pace than other states in the US.

4th May, 1961

Freedom Rides

Picture of Freedom RidesFreedom RidesThe Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) came up with a policy of desegregating public transportation all around the south. These policies became known as Freedom Rides. They were protesting segregation on public transportation. When the people would get off at Montgomery, AL, they would be brutally attacked by mobs of whites. President John F. Kennedy was having more and more pressure added to him as every attack occurred.

1st Nov, 1961

Albany Movement

Albany MovementPicture of Albany MovementIn 1955, the Supreme Court made segregation illegal on public transport, yet some people chose to test the new law. They did this by sitting in the section for whites at a bus station in Albany, GA. They were arrested. Their arrests triggered the Albany Movement which was led by Dr. William Anderson. The Freedom Riders also sat in the section for whites and were arrested with the previous group. After several months, there were around 500 people in jail.

1st Nov, 1961

Albany Movement continued

This number included the famous Martin Luther King (MLK). After the Albany Movement, there was any immediate integration in Albany, yet there was a committee that started to observe the issues of blacks in Albany, Georgia.

2nd Apr, 1963

Birmingham, AL Protests

Picture of Birmingham ProtestsBirmingham ProtestsMartian Luther King and the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) started many protests in Birmingham, Alabama. They did this to end segregation in Birmingham. There were so many people in jail that the organizers of the protests had used children and teenagers to run the protests. On April 12, MLK was put in jail. There was a lack of jail funds, so he wouldn't be able to get out anytime soon. He wrote a letter from jail called, "Letter from the Birmingham Jail."

2nd Apr, 1963

Birmingham, AL Protests continued

The police had used dogs and hoses to punish the protesters. All of this was being publicized and created bad business for Birmingham. This led to the end of segregation in Birmingham, Alabama.

28th Aug, 1963

March on Washington DC

March on WashingtonPicture of March on Washington The March on Washington took place in Washington DC on August 28, 1963. They were protesting that they get rid of segregation in public schools, big public work program make more jobs available, prevent segregation when hiring, a minimum wage of $2 per hour, and self-government for Washington DC (District of Columbia). There were around 250, 000 people who attended. President John F. Kennedy agreed on a Civil Rights Act.

Picture of the Girls Killed in Bombing[Birmingham Bombed](Birmingham Church Bombing - Civil Rights Cases — Infoplease.com )On September 15, 1963, Bobby Cherry bombed 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. It resulted in four little girls, who were attending Sunday school, were killed where the bomb exploded at the church. Their names were Denise McNair, Cynthia Wesley, Carole Robertson, and Addie Mae Collins. There were twenty other injuries that had been found. The church had been the meeting place for the civil rights meetings.

15th Sep, 1963

16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham Bombed continued

They had only ordered integration in Birmingham's public schools just a few days prior.

22nd Nov, 1963

Assassination of John F. Kennedy

Picture of Assassination of JFKAssassination of John F. Kennedy President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was assassinated at 12:30pm in Dallas Texas, on Friday, November 22, 1963. He was traveling with his wife, Jacqueline, in an open-top car in a motorcade. The assassination occurred approximately at 12:30 pm. Lee Harvey Oswald assassinated President John F. Kennedy by shooting him through the neck.

Picture of Voting Rights Voting RightsPresident Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act into law. The Voting Rights Act was a proposed legislation to remove the right of states to impose restrictions on who could vote in elections. He proposed that every American citizen must have an equal right to vote.

6th Sep, 1966

Summerhill Race Riot (ATL)

Picture of Summer Hill Race RiotSummerhill Race RiotIn Summerhill, there was a four day race riot. There were false accusations of black people abusing white women. The white men thought that hurting them, they would be protecting their wives and children. There was twenty injured people, and there was one death. Mayor Ivan Allen, Jr. restored peace in the area when he went down there during the race riot. He pleaded with them until they stopped.

4th Apr, 1968

MLK Assassination

PIcture of MLK AssassinationMLK Assassination On April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, was assassinated at an early age of 39 at approximately 7:05 p.m. on the balcony of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, TN. The sniper who shot Dr. King was James Earl Ray, a white segregationist. Dr. King was invited to Memphis to assist the striking sanitation workers. The citizens of Atlanta were upset and started a racial outburst.

4th Apr, 1968

MLK Assassination continued

After King’s death, newspapers portrayed articles that displayed present reactions to the Martin Luther King’s death in the North, Midwest, and south. Many hated Dr. King for his message, and saw him as a criminal.

1st Jan, 1971

All GA Schools Integated

Picture of All GA Schools IntegratedAll GA Schools IntegratedThe integration of all Georgia schools was a result from the Supreme court ruling in the 1954 case of Brown vs. Board of Education of Topeka. The court ruled that segregating black children from white in public schools was a violation of the 14th amendment. Desegregation of public schools was a long and drawn out process in the southern states especially in Georgia. As of the 1971 school year, eighty one school districts in Georgia desegregated and integrated because of federal court orders.

1st Jan, 1971

All GA Schools Integrated continued

The state saw many unsuccessful boycotts staged by white parents who did not want their children to be in the same schools with black children. Many opted to place their children in private schools. Over time the tension between the students (black and white ) diminished.